


Launching Point

by Rocky_T



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 20:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17474435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rocky_T/pseuds/Rocky_T
Summary: Post both series, a conversation between Janeway and Kira on DS9. Two of my favorite strong Trek women.





	Launching Point

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written and posted December 2005.
> 
> For Jerie.

The airlock opened and Colonel Kira stepped forward to greet the visitor.

"Welcome to Deep Space Nine, Admiral Janeway."

"Thank you."

Kira nodded to the other crew members and then fell into step beside Janeway. She glanced curiously at the older woman as they made their way down from the docking pylons. Beyond her brief acknowledgment, Janeway hadn't said a word. 

Kira cleared her throat awkwardly. "Is this your first time on the station?"

A small smile of amusement played around Janeway's mouth. "No, actually, our ship's maiden voyage was to the Badlands." She clarified. " _Voyager_ launched from DS9, nearly ten years ago."

Of course. How could Kira have forgotten the fateful mission to capture the Maquis? Though, in her defense, the name Kathryn Janeway had become so synonymous with the Maquis, with pleading their cause and arguing for full rights and restitution, that it was hard to remember that the former captain had once been sent to arrest them. Kira reflected, however, that Janeway had been fortunate in the particular Maquis cell she'd had to deal with. The _Voyager_ group had been relatively cooperative types, willing to be taken back into the Starfleet fold. Kira wondered how Janeway would have fared with someone like Tom Riker.

The corridors widened as they progressed further into the interior of the station, and foot traffic picked up somewhat. Kira responded mechanically to the people who passed in the other direction, their glances automatically straying to the visiting dignitary, doubtless wondering why she had come. Kira wondered as well. "Will you be staying long, Admiral Janeway?"

Janeway appeared startled, although perhaps that was simply because so many minutes had gone by without anything said aloud. She'd appeared to content to walk along, alone with her own thoughts. "No," Janeway said now. "I will be traveling on the _Rising Star_ to the Gamma Quadrant, through the wormhole. I believe we're scheduled to depart at 1800 tomorrow." 

Kira cursed herself for not having had time to consult the shipping schedules, but then again she'd been so busy she hadn't even known the Admiral was due to arrive until the notification had come that the shuttle had been cleared for its final approach to the docking ring. 

Janeway meanwhile had fallen silent once again, her gaze focused on something in the corridor although there was nothing more interesting to be seen than an occasional power junction. Perhaps to her own surprise--certainly to Kira's--she elaborated some more. "It's a diplomatic mission. With the defeat of the Dominion there's a bit of a power vacuum, which a number of former vassal planets and would-be players are now scrambling to fill. The Federation wants to make sure none of them have dreams of filling the Dominion's shoes too exactly--to extend their reach beyond their own quadrant."

Kira nodded. "It makes sense that Starfleet would send you to conduct diplomacy. You probably had a lot of experience with that from your time in the Delta Quadrant."

Janeway laughed. The suddenness made Kira jump. "I suspect the brass don't know quite else what to do with me. So they put me where I can't cause too much trouble--or so they hope." Her smile turned faintly bitter, despite herself. "As we're both perfectly well aware, Colonel, there is no real danger of any forces venturing through the wormhole into the AQ for a long time. They're all too busy consolidating their own holdings right now, and the Federation really doesn't give a damn what happens in the Gamma Quadrant, they've got enough to worry about closer to home."

As Kira was digesting this statement--which perhaps wasn't as surprising as it first appeared--they had reached the Promenade.

Janeway put her hand on Kira's arm, bringing her to a halt. "Listen," she said quietly. "You don't have to escort me to my quarters, really. I can find my own way."

Kira wondered at the tightness in the Admiral's facial expression. "It's a simple courtesy," she said in the same tone Janeway had used. "It's no imposition, I assure you." She attempted to joke. "I do this for all our visitors--the important ones, at least."

Janeway didn't respond to the levity. "A courtesy, Colonel, or a subtle way of keeping an eye on me?" She added, heatedly, "I know how Starfleet Command views me, a loose cannon ready to go off at any time." Her voice dropped lower as she added tiredly, "I can assure you that they--and you--have nothing to worry about."

Kira snorted. The Admiral turned to her in shock. Whatever reaction she'd been expecting, Kira's was obviously not it.

"I'm sorry," Kira said, trying to contain her amusement. "But the notion that I, of all people, would be considered to be the Federation's watchdog… Let's just say I know a little about loose cannons myself."

Janeway relaxed, smiled. They continued to walk. A few steps further and they found themselves at the entrance to one of the better eating establishments on the Promenade.

Janeway glanced up at the sign. "Would you care to join me for dinner, Colonel?"

"I'd be delighted," Kira said. "I think the two of us have a lot to talk about."


End file.
